Rihanna & Chris Brown fight started over text message from other woman
BY George Rush In New York and Nancy Dillon In Los Angeles
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Wednesday, February 11th 2009, 8:55 AM
Rihanna and Chris Brown seemed the happy couple just last month.
It started with a text.
The explosive fight that landed sultry singer Rihanna in the hospital ignited when singer Chris Brown got a text message from another young woman, a source said.
"He got a booty call. He got a text. Rihanna saw it and she got upset. They started to argue. She got out of the car. He wanted her to get back in, so he grabbed her," the industry source said. "She pulled away. That's when she's told people he hit her."
The Barbados-born beauty had "visible injuries" when cops arrived, and she's been cooperating with the investigation ever since, while freezing out Brown.
"Chris has been trying to contact her. So far she hasn't taken his call," the music business source said. "Her family is on their way to be with her. She has some close girlfriend looking after her."
The source scoffed at reports that the fight erupted after a jealous Brown scolded Rihanna for spending time with producer Timbaland at a pre-Grammy party.
Cops and sources say the two were driving a rented Lamborghini on a ritzy street south of Rihanna's pad in the Hollywood Hills early Sunday when they quarreled, parked, got out and "the argument escalated."
Cops responding to a 911 call found the "Umbrella" singer with a split lip and contusions on either side of her forehead, according to People.com.
"She looked distraught and in a lot of pain. Her eyes were closed because she was looking down," a police source who saw photos told People.com.
Rihanna also reportedly had bite marks on her hand and was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Cops delivered their case to prosecutors Tuesday, but the district attorney sent them back to the drawing board.
"LAPD did present a case this morning and we have asked for further investigation," DA spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Robison wouldn't describe the holes that prosecutors want plugged.
A legal expert said prosecutors generally ask for an overabundance of "witness work" in cases like this because victims often lose their nerve when it comes to trial.
"These cases are often stymied by the refusal of victims to testify," said attorney Alexandra Leichter, a Beverly Hills-based private arbitrator. "If witnesses saw the victim before the attack, witnesses heard the screams and then cops came and she was bloodied, then the circumstantial evidence could be enough to convict."
The Daily News spoke to a witness Tuesday who heard the raucous fight explode outside her house: "I heard the screaming. It was loud," the homeowner said.
"In my opinion, either [the cops] have conflicting stories and not enough evidence, or the DA is debating whether to file this as misdemeanor or felony battery," said defense attorney Steve Cron. "If you have a scratch or a bruise, that's more in the realm of misdemeanor. If you have a cut that requires stitches, bruising showing multiple blows, a broken bone or a chipped tooth, that's more felony."
Brown, 19, has kept a low profile since he was booked on a felony criminal threats charge and released on $50,000 bail. His attorney Mark Geragos did not return calls seeking comment.
Singer Kanye West, who toured with Rihanna last year, said he was "devastated" by word of the alleged abuse.
"All I will say is, it's so devastating. I feel like, just as a person, I don't care how famous she is, or even if she worked at McDonald's, that should have never happened," West told Ryan Seacrest during a radio interview. "It should never come to that place."
ndillon@nydailynews.com
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/02/10/2009-02-10_rihanna__chris_brown_fight_started_over_.html
